It's a little known fact that casual gaming was invented as a bet between famed bridge player, actor, raconteur and parking attendant assaulter Omar Sharif and famed alcoholic Peter O'Toole.

One night in Paris - Sharif said to O'Toole that he was tired of Bridge, the stimulus on his mental nodes were becoming frazzled by the dazzling array of cards and hands that he was required to remember. Often, he claimed, it was to the detriment of his ability to make sweet love to the passing ladies when in the throes of passion he would find himself screaming out "ace of spades" at the most inappropriate moment. That, of course, being the peak of the ladies orgasm. To add insult to injury, at the moment he himself would, to use his words "shout crossruff as [he] came on her firm busom" it became not just a psychological problem, but a social one.

O'Toole laid his money down on the table, locked his gaze upon the fetching moustache that Sharif was sporting and said to him "I'll fucking have you, you twat". A passing Richard Harris recalled many years on the Russel Harty show that "it was strange to see gentlemen of such a fine acting profession kicking shit out of each other y'know".

To resolve the issue, Sharif and O'Toole, bruised, beaten and battered, smelling of fine ales and wines decided that something urgently needed to be done. They invented a new genre of gaming, "casual gaming" they called it so that Sharif would be able to reconcile his love for the ladies with a love for gaming - preferably without the urge to bellow cards and bridge terms in the throes of passion being incurred as a penalty.

The concept was simple, in creating a system of gaming that distracted and dulled the brain, Sharifs problem would be reduced to the nothingness that is usually associated with far too much Gin.

This is the story of the early days of casual gaming. A time forgotten due to the rise of the portals, the internet and a million developer slaves to the production line. This is a chance to give the originators of casual gaming their dues, a piece of history, a slice of life in times long forgotten and a peek at the very beginnings, the raw and unrefined games that came before what we all know and love this day.

With a commentary and description by Sharif himself, describing their attempts in detail - Omar Sharifs Egyptian Escapades is a must see for gaming historians, popular blogs and print magazines, your Aunt Fannys Uncle Buck, casual gamers, hardcore gamers and members of the Peoples Front Of Judea alike.

History, ladies and gentlemen, is in your hands. Or at least, it will be very soon.